The Way
by Tsurara11
Summary: Kagome has a secret that had to be hidden until after Naraku's defeat had it been revealed he would have used his everything to merely get his hands on her and not even cared for the jewel. Kagome is sent to the further past.
1. Chapter 1

Hello and welcome to my newest story: The Way. I hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter 1: The Truth

The soft crackling of the fire wakes me from my slight snooze. I am anxious of the things to come tomorrow. Tomorrow is an important turning point for my pack. A few hours later, I pick up the sounds of Shippo slowly waking up. I look towards him. He is lying in the small red sleeping bag that I brought back for him from home. It is the perfect color for his red-orange hair.

"Momma, what are you doing still up so late," he ask me.

"I am merely anxious about the coming morning, Shippo," I tell him with a smile to assure him that I am fine.

"Oh! You are going to tell them tomorrow then," he asks.

"They deserve to know Shippo," I reply quietly as he sits silently down in my lap.

"Are you scared," he asks in an innocent voice.

"No, I am not little one. I knew this day would come," I say as I gently run my fingers through his hair.

We sit in a comfortable silence watching the fire dance before us. A short while later he is asleep. I stay up through the rest of the night contemplating how exactly to break the news to my pack. As the sun starts to rise, I watch as the sky lightens and changes colors. I love the sunrise it is a great way to start the day. After the sky has turned to its usual light blue color, I go through the steps of preparing the morning meal. Everyone will be waking up soon and wanting something to eat. If I stick to my plan, I should reveal my secret to them after they have finished eating.

Sango is the first to awaken and is followed shortly by Inuyasha. Inuyasha jumps down from his tree and grabs one of the bowls of fresh cinnamon oatmeal from home. A little while later Miroku wakes up with his hair all crazy and spiked up. I hide a small giggle as Sango just laughs. Miroku runs his hands through his hair sheepishly. Shippo is the last one to wake up. He wakes up when nearly everyone else is almost finished. He quickly eats his food.

I gather every ones bowls and head to the small babbling creek near our camp site. Once I have finished, I head back to camp and everyone is sitting but ready to go whenever. I sit down next to my bag and place the bowls inside. I turn to look to look at my friends and pack, and I sigh deeply preparing myself the coming events.

"There is something that I need to show you all. Shipp come here and sit next to me," I request him knowing that the first thing Inuyasha will go after in his rage is Shippo.

Shippo quickly comes over and sits down in my lap knowing what is coming. The rest of the pack is staring at me in confusion wondering what it is that I want to show them.

"Subete o mite iru mono go subete ni watashi no shin no sugata o skiraka ni shita (One who is all seeing reveal my true form to all)," I chant in a calm voice.

For a few seconds, a bright light expands from my body before disappearing. Everyone has their hands over their eyes; they are rubbing their watering eyes trying to get rid of the pain. Sango is the first to come out of it because she is used to the flash bombs used by slayers.

Sango shakes her head in disbelief as a sharp gasp of surprise comes from her throat. Miroku is the next one to discover my secret. Miroku opens his mouth but before he can say anything Inuyasha growls at me.

"What the hell, Kagome! What the hell caused this change," he demands.

"Nothing has changed Inuyasha. This was merely hidden," I tell him letting one of my hands motion towards my body.

My hair is longer; I have a cerulean star on the middle of my forehead symbolizing what I am. I have claws instead of nails and my canine teeth are longer and sharper than they were.

"Bitch why did you not tell us or use your. . ." Inuyasha growls at me.

"Thank you Inuyasha for pointing it out. Yes, I am a bitch, but I prefer dog demoness," I tell him.

"Kagome are you really a Seer Inu," ask Sango while trying to get used to my new to her form.

"Yes," I respond looking her directly in the eye.

"Bitch, you are no longer part of this pack," growls Inuyasha.

"Fine, Shippo and I shall travel alone. It is safer now that Naraku is defeated," I respond quickly coming to a stand with Shippo in my arms.

"Fine, take the brat with you I do not care. He is no longer pack and the only reason he was ever pack to begin with was because you were," Inuyasha hisses at me.

"Inuyasha you are making a mistake. Kagome-sama must have a reason for why she hid her true form from us until now," Miroku reasons.

"I do not care. She betrayed me," he growls deeply. I growl at him as he continues, "Never come near me again, traitor."

Inuyasha runs away from the camp not even saying good bye to the rest. He truly thought that they would abandon him for me. Most likely they would have split their time between friends when they could. I sigh and turn to look at everyone else.

"We should stay here for the day," I recommend as I sit down.

"Alright, Kagome," Sango says as she starts to clean her weapons to calm her nerves.

Miroku adds wood to the fire before going over to the creek to clean up some. Shippo lays his head back against my stomach, and I gently pet him. He soon falls into a short nap. I watch as the clouds above pass bye us as I think about the events just on the horizon. It only takes a hour for Sango and Miroku to settle down and fall asleep.

Sorry if this seems too fast to you guys but I did not want to drag things out. I hate writers that do that for a long time. I like to keep things right in the middle. Thanks for reading and please comment.


	2. Shocking Discovery

Hello and welcome to chapter 2 of The Way. I am sorry for the wait but I was running all weekend long. I am going to upload two chapters for this tonight. I am anxious to see you all's thoughts on the next chapter. I did not get much reaction to the next chapter on Dokuga, sadly.

To answer a question asked, yes a seer inu is an inu who can see visions. I have gone into details later in this chapter.

Chapter 2: Shocking Discovery

Leaning against a tree, I watch as Sango and Miroku eat dinner. Shippo has already finished his and is chasing a red butterfly around the clearing. The scrape of the trees bark would have caused me a bit of discomfort had I still been in my human disguise. The smell of the fully cooked fish is tantalizing but I am still full from yesterday's meal of venison. The crackling of the fire and the sound of their chop sticks scraping against their plates comes to my ears. All of these things are once again in full effect against my senses. A few minutes later they are both finished and Shippo is still chasing after the butterfly.

Sango comes over and gracefully sits next to me. Her eyes are showing her emotions completely as they flit from one to another. They go from curious to confusion to worry and back to curious all in under the minute that we sit there in silence. Her slight crease develops between her eyes as continues in thinking about what to say. I allow her to think uninterrupted knowing that she wants to ask about me and my abilities. It takes her a few minutes but she gets her thoughts straight.

"Kagome, why did you not tell us that you were a Seer Inu," asks Sango with a bit of sadness in her tone.

I can tell that she is unhappy with me for not telling her, the one I consider a sister, what I am. I motion for Miroku to come closer. From the look on his face, I can tell that he also is curious about it but wants to give Sango a chance by herself to get information. I look over to Shippo and see that he has stopped chasing the butterfly and is looking curiously at me. With a wave of my hand, he continues on with his playing knowing that I will be fine.

I turn back to face Sango and Miroku now that he is sitting down. Both of them are sitting very close together and have worried expressions on their face. I let out a nearly inaudible, even to my ears, sigh. They have the right to know all that I can tell them without breaking a clan law.

"I did not tell you because I foresaw that if I showed I am a Seer Inu that Naraku would hunt me to the ends of the earth. He would have given up his hunt for the shards until he had absorbed me into his body," I tell them with no emotion in my tone.

Sango shivers while Miroku just looks at me thinking of what he should ask.

"What exactly is a Seer Miko," asks Miroku.

"Human, youkai, or the clan's definition," I reply in a series tone.

"How much of a difference is there between all of them," Sango requests.

"What are the different definitions," asks Miroku at the same time.

Both turn to stare at each other for a second before turning back to me waiting for an answer to both of their questions. This will take some time to finish.

"There is a very huge difference between the all of them. Even between youkai and clan definition. The human definition is just an inu that can see the future," I say as I look up towards the tree tops watching as the tree branches sway in the wind. "To the youkai it is an inu of the black inu clan which can see the past, present, and future both near and far. According to that definition we can also show what we are seeing to a person we are close with."

"That is a large difference between just the two. What about between youkai and the clan definition," asks Sango as she leans forward with interest.

"I can only tell you so much about us Seers because long ago the clan head decided that some information never is told to humans or demons," I tell them.

"Tell us what you can Kagome-sama," Miroku urges in a soothing tone.

I look at them both preparing to give them the fullest definition I can give which even with the restrictions is long and tedious. I wonder where to start. Alright let's just start with the basics.

"For every three thousand black inu demons born there is one black Seer Inu demon. Black inus are rare as is but a seer is even rarer. Everything in both previous definitions is true. Usually what we see is seen by us because the kami want us to change it. Sometimes it may be for us to help who we see. We can see things that people ask of us. We are commonly used to find mates, lost precious items, and places. We have . . . ." my vocal cords have frozen and will not let me utter another word about the subject to my friends.

I try saying something else about Seer Inus but my vocal cords will not budge on the subject. I growl at the spell that blocks us from ever breaking the decree even if it has been changed recently and we have not sworn to it.

"Kagome what is wrong," asks Sango with concern. "Is an enemy near?"

Both of them jump to their feet in automatic assumption as soon as the words leave her throat. I sigh and stand up. I pull on Miroku's robes and Sango's slayer uniform. Both jerk around to face me prepared for fighting. I shake my head and point to my throat.

"Oh something has stopped you from saying any more," Miroku guesses.

"Yes," I say experimentally to see if it is a time voice block or if it just covers the details. "As I said earlier, I am only allowed to tell you so much and apparently a new block has been added to the promise that all of us Seer Inus."

"Oh, so what should we do now, Kagome," asks Sango as they both sit back down closer to the fire.

I go and sit against tree. I bring my right knee up to my chest and place my right arm on it before laying my head on top of my arm.

"I think it would be best if we head back Kaede's for a little while. While there we can gather supplies from this era and the future. I plan on staying here after this trip so I will get as much as I can. After that would you like to return to your village," I respond saying the last part looking her directly in the eye.

"If Kohaku survived the final battle he will return to there. I would really love to go back to my village," she says with tears in her eyes.

"He is alive, Sango. Naraku had too many uses for him even after he removed the shard from Kohaku's back," I say convincingly.

"Are you sure Kagome," she cries.

"Very much so," I tell her. "We should head out in the morning."

Miroku nods in agreement as Sango buries her head in Miroku's robes. I gently pat her head as I pass by them to go get Shippo so that he may get ready for bed. I find him near the edge of the clearing playing with a bit of his fox magic. He is using it to make copies of himself to play chase. A smile comes across my face I stand and watch him for a few minutes.

"Come on Shippo time to prepare for bed," I command.

"Yes mother," he responds running towards me.

His copies turn back into leaves as he jumps into my arms. A shock travels through me as he rubs his head against my chest. It is the urge to have my own pup one day. It will be a long time from now before I can have a pup of my own. Yes, a very long time until then. I walk over to his sleeping bag and place him on it. I watch as Shippo's red orange hair disappears with in the sleeping bag. A few seconds later his head pops out of it as he settles down. I smile at the cute picture he poses. His green eyes and white canines clash with the red of his hair and the sleeping bag. I gently smile down at him as I settle into a comfortable position beside him.

I pull my left leg up to my chest and let his head rest on top of my right leg. This must be a favorite position of the inus because Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, and I seem to prefer it. After a few minutes of complete silence Shippo is a sleep while curled up against my side. I look around and see that Sango and Miroku are lying against a tree. Her head is resting on his chest and his arms are wrapped around her waist. Ah, it will be nice to finally see them wed.

I keep watch through the night allowing every single one of my senses to bring me information. My ears pick up the sounds of the hunters of the night and the sound of prey trying to keep itself alive for at least one more night. My nose brings me the scent of fresh blood with every kill made, demons coming and leaving my sensing range and the fresh scent of water from the nearby brook. My eyes pick up the flight of the night hunting birds and bats as they fly through the night sky. I can feel the vibrations of animals moving on the ground around our camp. Some approach it but come no closer than the light ring of the fire. Around dawn the world starts to calm once again as the nocturnal animals prepare to sleep and the day animals still sleep before their awakening. As the sun rises, I watch once again before starting my now morning routine.

Once everyone has eaten, I start packing Shippo's and mine things away. I look up and see that Miroku and Sango are ready to get going. Kirara is in her larger form and is well rested. I smile at them.

"Ready to go," I ask them just to make sure.

"Whenever you are Kagome-chan," Sango says.

I nod before picking up Shippo as Sango and Miroku jump onto Kirara. I start to travel to the south-east towards Edo. Shippo climbs to my shoulder as I start out at a slower pace so that Kirara can stretch some before we start moving at faster speeds. About an hour later, I pick up the pace since she has had enough time to stretch. We stop traveling at noon to eat lunch and then continue from there until an hour before sun set. We continue this routine for the next three days that it takes to travel to Edo. Now that I can use my true form we can travel much faster than before.

The smell of death clings to Edo. It is to be expected because all humans smell of death at least a little bit for they are slowly dying over time. The villagers stare at me but say nothing because they know that Sango and Miroku would never bring a dangerous youkai into the village. We walk slowly through the village to Kaede's hut. I push the door hanging open and step in quickly followed by Sango and Miroku. Kaede looks up from mixing up herbs. From the smell of it, it is a mixture to treat arthritis.

"Hello Kaede-baa-chan," I say with a slight bow.

"Ye have me at an advantage child. Ye know my name but I have no knowledge of yours," Kaede replies with a nod of her head in acknowledgment.

"I am sorry you have not seen me in this form. I am Kagome, Kaede," I answer as we all take seats around the hut.

"Child how have you become a demon," asks Kaede.

I spend the next ten minutes explaining to her what I am. She listens to me carefully. Her surprise slowly slips away to understanding and sympathy for having to hide my true nature for all of these years. I ask her to help Sango and Miroku with finding supplies for the journey to and starting to rebuild the Taija village. Kaede agrees and starts to list things that may be of very much use to us as we rebuild the village.

"Well, I am going to take Shippo home and gather some supplies that will last us a long time," I tell them as I stand up.

"Very well Kagome. I wish you luck with saying your good byes," Kaede says with a smile on her face.

"Thank you. I should be back in a weeks' time," I tell them as I push the door hanging out of mine and Shippo's way.

Shippo walks by my side as we head to the well. Many of the villagers follow us with their eyes very much curious about this strange demon, me. I keep my pace slow enough for Shippo to keep up but as fast as he can go without going fast than a quick walk for him. It takes us ten minutes to get to the well. I place my hand on the edge of the well sighing at the feeling of its rough edges on my skin.

"Ready to go Shippo," I ask.

"Yes, oka-san," he replies as he jumps into my arms.

I swing myself up and over the lip of the well and into its' depths. As we near the bottom, a bright blue light surrounds us signifying our passing through time. As the energy gently sets us down at the bottom of the well, I pick up the scents of pollution of my time.

'It is good to be back in my original home again,' I think to myself.

'Yes, even if only for a short time before we must return to the time we now call home,' my beast says in a pleased tone.

She is pleased to finally have a time to call home. For the last five years, it has been hard traveling between because it caused confusion as to which was truly home. Ah, but now it will finally be settled.


	3. Preparing

Hello everyone and welcome to chapter 3. This chapter in Microsoft word is about 5 pages long. This chapter and the one before it were originally going to be one chapter but they were both to long for me to put together.

Chapter 3: Preparing

The feeling of Shippo's sharp claws brings me out of my reverie. I look over at him and see that his nose is cutely scrunched up at the strong smells of my original time. I smile encouragingly at him. I jump straight up and out of the well and into the old well house that surrounds it. I look over at Shippo and see his little head rolling to the side like he is going to faint.

"Sorry Shippo but if you cover your nose for a little bit you should get used to the smell without fainting," I recommend to him with a small smile.

Shippo raises his little shirt to cover his nose and stares at me in mock anger for not telling him sooner. He knows I have never brought another full demon here. I walk over to the wooden doors gently so as to not break the already brittle doors of the shine. A wider smile comes across my face as I hear Shippo's gasp. His eyes are wide, as they look over the sky scrapers that tower over the sky. His little claws dig through my shirt and a little into my skin in his excitement and wonder. I slowly walk down the stairs of the shrine to the shrine house to allow him to view as much as he can before he gets the surprise of looking at the inside of my mother's home.

As I open the door that leads into the foyer of my mother's home, Shippo gasps. He sees the wooden floors the glass and ceramic vases, the carpet floors, and painted walls. It must be so overwhelming for him to see the differences just as it was for me to see so many changes in the times that I have spent the last five years of my life in. His little head is whipping back and forth looking over the different items and things that are in the room.

"Momma this is your home," asks Shippo in a quiet voice.

"No Shippo, this is my mother's home. My home is with you in the past. I will be able to see my family again when I live to see this time again," I tell him.

"Oh, wow this is very pretty," he says.

"Why thank you, young one," replies my mother as she walks into the foyer.

Her long black hair is tied up in a bun and she is wearing a white button up shirt and khaki pants. She has flour on her nose so she must be making bread or pie.

"You must be Kagome's adopted son Shippo. She has told me so much about you," she comments.

"She has told me much about you as well oba-sama," Shippo replies.

"Just call me Sakura. Calling me oba-sama makes me feel very old. I am young even in demon terms. I guess you are coming back to gather supplies for a full stay Kagome," mom asks me.

"Yes mother just as I told you before the last time I left," I answer with a sigh.

She knows that I saw that the next time that I came back it would be for the last time and that the next time she saw me I would be older than she. My mother was born about three hundred and thirty years ago. I am about sixty-two years old. We inu demons age normally until the age of ten and then age one year for every five years until we reach the look of a twenty-five year old. After that we stop aging almost all together. It is hard to tell the true age of an inu demon. The family always tries to guess each other exact age. We usually meet together once every two hundred years for a large clan meeting.

"Alright. I already have some supplies and I had special items made for you so that you may blend in a little better with the times," she says as she leads us into the kitchen.

I nod my head, and Shippo jumps down from my shoulder and starts to explore the kitchen and the items in it. I have described the uses of the electronics in the room to him many a time so he knows of them but most likely he is curious to touch and see them at work. The rice maker dings making Shippo jumps in surprise as he was about to touch the oven. This makes mom and me laugh a little at his expense.

"It is alright Shippo that was merely the rice maker going off to tell us that the rice has finished cooking," I placate as I walk over and rub his head soothingly.

"Okay," he says in a quiet somewhat scared voice.

"Why don't you go upstairs and play with Souta he is preparing to go out and play soccer he might want to teach you how to play while Kagome and I have a talk. Okay," mom recommends kneeling down to his level.

"Okay," he responds sweetly.

Shippo runs up the stairs and into Souta's room just following the unfamiliar scent of a young boy. I turn back to my mom and watch as she pulls out a black bag and a box of something.

"I did not know how you would want things organized so I left them in the box and only put a few things in the bag. I also put another bag for Shippo in your bag," mom states as she places them down on the kitchen table.

I walk over to the table as she opens the box. As I reach the wooden table she unzips the back. Inside of the back pack are six large wooden bottles like shaped containers and two large canteens shaped wooden pieces. I look up at her in confusion.

"You will not be able to blend in if you have plastic containers for your hair, body, and water. That is not everything that I have gotten for you," she says motioning for me to look inside of the large box.

Inside of the box on top are a set of kimonos. They are black with light pink cherry blossoms on it. It is made of extremely soft silk. It feels as if I am touching a baby's bottom. I gasp in surprise these are most likely worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars. I look up at my mother in surprise but she motions for me to continue going through the box. I gently place the kimonos on the table and look back into the box. I remove a couple sets of fine yakuta and hakama as well as unanori hakama for when I decide to ride a horse. The hakamas are black with deep blue thread while the yakuta are black completely. These are the colors that represent my clan.

I shake my head knowing that even in the past the clan will stick to me like glue even if only in clothes and the restrictions I have vowed to in this time. When I lift the final hakama, I see just beneath it three sheaths and a pouch. I first open the pouch and see that inside is ninja stars and a few kunai. Next I grab the two smaller sheaths which I can guess contain sais. I pull one out of its sheath and see that I was correct. I look at it and see the thin blade with two shorter prongs on the sides. The blade may be thin but I know that it is sharp enough to cut a feather even if the feather was just sitting on it and had no pressure put on it.

I pull the final thing out of the box. The handle of the blade is a deep blue almost black. The hilt is simple and yet beautiful at the same time. It is silver in contrast to the dark deep blue. As I pull out the katana I can see that it is just as well made as the sais. Not many can afford this kind of work. Only one of the richest people or better yet clans can afford this or afford the up keep of the weapon itself. The weapon if it is older would demands a lot of sharpening and then reforging so that it does not thin out too much over time or break easily.

"Mother where did you get these things," I demand.

"The clan agreed to give you these swords and the clothing are gifts from the clan," she answers in a calm tone.

"Fine. I will pack these up as best as I can," I tell her.

"Alright dinner should be done soon," mom tells me.

I turn around and start to head up the stairs. As I near the top, my vision blanks and I barely feel myself start to fall. I know this feeling and the sense of foreboding comes over me as a flash of light signals the start of it.

I hear the screams of the people around me as my vision clears. The air around me is full with the scent of death and fire. I look around and take in the seemingly familiar village. My astral body floats off in the direction that the kami wish me to go. All around me people are screaming in pain, begging for mercy, and calling for the help of the kami. I know I cannot stop any of this but yet I wish I could fight this thing that controls this but I cannot. I can only witness what the kami wish for me to no matter how hard I try to change what happens.

I come to a stop in the middle of the village. Most of the screams have stopped by now but I can still hear a few people struggling to live. A few seconds after my astral body has stopped moving, a man all dressed all in black including a cape and wearing very large armor steps into the clearing. He is dragging a body behind him. All I can tell is that it is a woman and by the feel of her she is a priestess. I watch as he comes to a stop just a few feet in front of me as if he knows that I am watching. He pulls the woman up to her knees and forces her head back.

I gasp as I realize why I recognize this village even if just a little bit. The priestess that he is dragging around is Kaede and the village is Edo.

"Watch as your village burns to the ground. Watch as the people of this city die slow deaths unable to scream because of a lack of air. Watch this all before I kill you," the man commands.

A few minutes pass, the village burns to the ground almost to fast. It burns as if magically lit on fire. Could he have set the village a flame with that spell the forbidden spell? No it could not be. That spell was sealed away long ago. The spell is one that burn villages to the ground in minutes but kills the villagers slowly suffocating them but just before they suffocate it allows them oxygen to breathe and then slowly burns them to death. It is the worst way to die for anyone.

As the lost person burns to ashes, the evil man grabs more of Kaede's hair and pulls her head back to stare at him. He slowly removes his sword and brings it to her chest before slowly pushing it into her chest drawing out her death. I open my mouth to scream but my vision turns black.

My vision turns white once again before clearing to show me four of the kami which stand before me. Amaretsu in all of her flaming glory, Amida who is the kami of death, Benten the kami of love, arts, wisdom, poetry, good fortune, and water, and Bishamon the kami of war, justice, and protector of law. I fall to my knees before the kami for the first time in my life. Never have I fallen to my knees before any of them.

"I know what you saw child is horrendous but we are giving you a chance to change it. You can change it but not in the way you think. You will not be there during that event but you will have your chance," Amaretsu tells me in a soothing voice just like the one I used on Shippo what seems like weeks ago.

"How is that," I demand.

"Child this man wants to upset the balance. If he continues this way it will mean the end of all things as you know it. We will send you where you need to go to fix this problem," says Bishamon.

"You must trust us to set you on the right path to fixing what you have seen," continues Benten.

"I will do as you ask if only to stop this insanity," I tell them.

"Fine we shall return you to your home and you shall jump through the well without your son and you shall live life where and when we place you," commands Amida with a wave of his hand.

I nod my head just barely before the kami send me back to my body. I slowly open my eyes and see darkness of my bed room. I look down to the weight which is lying across my stomach. Shippo has his head lying on my stomach he seems to have fallen asleep on me while waiting for me to come out of my vision. I gently pick him up and place him on my bed before heading down stairs. I can hear my mother, brother, and grandfather asleep in their own rooms. I write them a note asking mother to look after Shippo and that I will see them again either in this life or another before packing the bag and dressing in a yakuta and hakama. I place the sais and katana at my waist.

I walk out the back door and quickly run for the well not taking the chance of any of them waking up and trying to stop me. As I reach the well house doors, I look back at my mother's home for what may be my last time ever seeing it. I rush over to the well and jump down it for the final time not giving myself to change my mind.

'I hope the kami will let us live to see our family again in our life time,' my beast whispers just before we are swallowed by the unusual black light of the well.

'I hope so as well,' I reply.


	4. Through the Well Once Again

Sorry for the wait but I have been busy with putting other stories of mine on as well. Plus my finals are coming up soon. The next chapter should be up soon but I do not know how soon exactly.

Chapter 4: Through the Well Again

The feeling of solid ground beneath my feet makes me open my eyes and stare around me. I am no longer inside of the well. Most likely the reason for this is because the well does not yet exists in this time. I spread my aura looking for any villages nearby. I can feel a small amount of human aura from the east. I allow my body to move slowly at least for me but smoothly through the forest to anyone watching it would have seemed as if a nymph was moving through the area. The fresh smell of this time is even better than the feudal era which is weird.

Huh must be fewer humans in this time, I think to my inner demon.

**Agreed, it is that or there is even less pollution here than in the feudal era,** she replies as I jump down a low cliff.

We would have to be back a very long time past the feudal era for it to be this noticeable, I say as I land and continue weaving through the trees.

**I truly wonder how far back the kami made the well send us back in time,** she agrees.

You know what is weird, I ask her.

**What**, she replies.

You have never told me your name, I think to her.

**True, my name is Tsurara**, she answers.

So your name is icicle, I state.

Tsurara just chuckles and goes silent. It is pretty ironic that we call Sesshoumaru the icicle but yet my inner demon is literally named icicle. The others would get a kick out of this. About twenty minutes away from the village, I sense a large group of demons coming towards the village. I ignore it thinking they are just going to go around the village. Most demons hate even being near a village let alone going into one.

As I get within fifteen minutes of the village, I realize that I am wrong. They are coming to close to the village just to be going around it. I pick up my speed for just in case these demons decide to do something. It seems the demons have picked up my aura finally and have decided to pick up their pace as well. Even at my full speed, they will beat me to the village. Hopefully, they do not do too much damage before I can get there. I am nearly there when I start to feel the disappearance of human auras. Damn them, I think as my speed kicks up another notch faster than ever before.

I come to the border's edge and the scent of blood almost causes me to fall to my knees. So much blood has been spilled in so little time. With my speed I catch many of the demons by surprise and kill them with my sword. All of them are oni demons. Why is it almost always oni demon that attack villages? I have a bad feeling about this but I cannot leave this village to defend itself from oni demons which are very volatile. As I enter the center of the small village, the leader turns to look at me. I crouch down and bare my fangs at him drawing his attention away from the villagers. He is the last of his clan left but he is the most dangerous.

I slowly back away from him and begin to lure him away from the village. A few seconds into him following me, he starts charging, and I jump back multiple times to keep the distance between us. Once he is clear of the village by twenty feet I allow him to close the distance between us. The oni swings his club at my head and I duck under his attack. I stumble forward as unexpectedly he swings the club downwards behind me hitting me in the back. I ignore the sting of air on blood as some of my blood wells up onto the skin. I use my speed to surprise him with a cut behind his knees. This causes the demon to fall backwards. He cannot force his body to a stand and collapses back to the ground. I use the opportunity to move forward and slit his throat with my sword. The demon tries to growl but it comes out as a garble. In an attempt to take me to the land of the dead with him, he swings his club at me once again.

I jump into the air and land on his chest before slamming my sword through his chest and into his heart. I jerk my sword out of his chest and hurry to get out of the way of the blood running out of the wound. If any of his blood ended up in my wounds it could be disastrous. Oni blood in someone's blood stream causes a slow and painful death by poisoning. The poison has one cure and that cure is almost impossible to make. Most of the ingredients can only be found on a mountain in the middle of winter sometimes not even then.

I wipe my sword off on the grass and move to walk into the village to access the damage and begin helping the people regain their life styles. Someone grabs my shoulder; I turn around fast enough to make my head spin for a split second. I fall to kneel as I recognize who it is that is standing before me. I am very far back in time if I am seeing Sesshomaru's grandfather. Way back if he is as young as he seems. Most likely he has just introduced Touga to the Cardinal Lords meaning that it is at least a thousand years before the Heian Era most likely even longer (translation: around 1000 B.C.).

"Lord," I say as I bow my head in respect.

"Rise young demoness. Why have you saved this village," he demands as I rise.

"They were in need of help Lord. I was not about to let this group of oni kill off an entire village," I reply not looking him in the eyes.

To look him in the eyes is to challenge him. Challenging Raitonin is worse than challenging Sesshomaru. Raitonin would not, not kill you for any reason if you offended him. A soft growl escapes from his throat. It is meant to make me cringe but I know better than to cringe in front of another dog demon. It means that you think they are stronger than you and you are weak.

"Follow me," he commands in a deadly tone.

I follow close behind knowing better than to disobey him. Even if I had a death wish, I would not ask him to end my life. Raitonin would drag out my death for as long as possible just to make sure others would not do the same. Raitonin hated it when people tried to use him for even the smallest reason or the best reasons. He would complete and most likely then finish off the person. He was good to his people but if they stepped out of line he would put them in their place no matter who they were. Raitonin moves swiftly through the forest towards the west. In a little over twenty hours of traveling through semi familiar territory, we arrive at the Western Palace which even now so far back in time is massive.

Alright that is it for now. I will go into details later about the palace. Sorry for the cliffy but I thought this would be a nice end to the chapter. So until next time, bye.

Translations:

Tsurara: Icicle

Raitonin: Lightning


	5. The Children

Hello and welcome to chapter 5 of The Way. I am sorry to my Dokuga fans for making you all wait so long for this to be updated but I wanted to get caught up before I started on a new chapter. Plus things in college have been crazy so I have had little time to do so. Again sorry but I hope you all enjoy this new chapter.

Chapter 5: A Child

Raitonin leads me down the halls and through his castle towards what I know to be the lords office when he is at work on something important or is in a small meeting with his subordinates. Sesshomaru allowed me to sit on a few of these meetings while we were planning the final battle with Naraku. The halls even now are bland and only have the crescent moon on them symbolizing the ruling family of the west. I remember much of the layout of the palace from the time that I spent here while waiting for Sesshomaru to get his army ready and the others spent time training. I spent my nights training when others were not watching me so that I could keep being what I am a secret.

"What is it that you thought you could do by killing those Oni, kuroi inu," demands Raitonin as he opens his office door and steps in not turning to allow me to walk past him as is polite.

Inwardly, Tsurara growls at his disrespect towards us. I calm her down telling her that he is strong and if we were to go against him we could very well lose our lives even with our power levels in both miko powers and youkai power. Raitonin is stronger than Sesshomaru ever was. The sad thing is that he dies by poison sometime in the next thousand years. I bow to him as he takes a seat and stand across from him at his desk.

"My lord, I only wanted to stop the needless death of the ningen. They supply many of us upper demons with money for their protection. I have no need of money seeing as I am a traveling demoness," I tell him with an inward smirk at my accomplishments.

"So you have traveled. What countries have you gone to," he demands in an uncaring voice.

"I have traveled throughout Asia and to some of the eastern side of Europe as well as some of the northern parts of Africa," I answer truthfully.

When I was younger father would take mom and me to different countries on vacations during the summer when I had no school. Father was so proud of me for wanting to know as much as I could about these different countries. He taught me about how things were run in the different countries and many other important things of both the past and current times well current then.

"That is very rare for a female to be permitted to do such travels even if they are from the richer class. How is it that your father could afford to do such things," Raitonin demands.

"My father was the head merchant of a success trading company and ruled it with a hard thumb," I answer.

I am mostly telling the truth my father was a successful trades men but that was in Japan and after he died it was all taken away from us and given to others because mother wanted very few reminders of my father. We lost most of our wealth but we still have a few stocks which keep us above the poverty line and allow us a few luxuries besides what the clan gives us.

"This Raitonin would like to meet your father some time since he raised such a fine young warrior and woman," he says in a very serious tone.

"I am sorry to inform you, my lord, my father died in an accident many years ago," I reply in a sad tone and allow my head to fall down a little. "It still hurts a bit to remember how he died. I live trying to keep his memory going."

"This Raitonin is sorry for your loss. The world must have lost a great man when your father died," he tells me.

I smile at him in thankfulness. I am surprised that the Terrible Raitonin is being so kind he must want something from me. I wonder what he could possibly want from me. I am in his eyes just someone who crossed his path and had the strength to kill some Oni and yet show manners to someone of higher status than I. Many demons will not bow to one of "higher" status just because of who they are. Some do but must will not unless they are shown what it means to be one of higher status by force. It is during this time that demons started to realize that making alliances is really important to their survival when the cardinal lords stat to go at.

Oh my kami. I am standing here having a decent conversation with the Terrible Raitonin father of Inutaisho. He is the lord that made the west the biggest cardinal space. He is sitting here being civil with me. Dear kami, he really wants something from me or he would have dismissed me a long time ago instead of keeping me here.

"May I ask what it is that you wish of me my lord," I ask him carefully not wishing to make him upset in anyway.

"This Raitonin would like for you to teach his children. This Raitonin has three children a son and two daughters and two more on the way. The children are in need of discipline, education, and training," he tells me. "I will offer you your own lands and a payment of one hundred gold and two hundred silver pieces, a month."

This would be a perfect way to help change the past and fix things so that Naraku never has a chance to wreak havoc on the world. This could make a happier future for Inuyasha and everyone else. I should take this job and do my best to make sure things will not turn out the way that they did in my future. I look Raitonin in the eyes and bow to him slowly.

"I will do this if my lord will allow me to teach them as I see fit. I am a traveler so I teach best through travel and experience to help them throughout their lives and future ruler ship," I tell him with a bow of my head.

"Very well, as long as they learn what they need to be lords and ladies," Raitonin tells me as he looks me with a serious look in his eyes.

"I will make sure of that. For the first five years of their training I shall keep them here or take them to my lands after I commission a small holding to be built for when I feel the urge to get away from the palace. I shall report to you on their progress and if you wish you can test them as they grow," I tell him with a slight smile.

"Very well but your lands already have a holding it is not small but large enough for someone of your station here in the court," Raitonin tells me.

"As you wish, my lord. May I see the children and start on their lessons," I ask him in a confidant voice.

"Never has a tutor been so ready to teach on their first day in a castle," he says.

"It is best to start these lessons early. My methods are unorthodox. Today I plan on getting a measure of the kids skills and manners," I reply calmly as he rises from his seat and walks towards the door.

This time when he opens it he motions for me to walk out first. I smile at him but make sure to keep it a friendly smile and not one of an attracted woman even by accident it could be fatal for me. I wait for Raitonin to close his door and then start to lead the way. He leads me back through the halls and to one of the gardens. The garden contains only cherry blossom trees and a pond with water lilies in it. When we step into the garden all of the kids look up at me.

I gasp when I see that the demons are no older than eight in body. Most likely the oldest is a little over four hundred years old and the youngest is a little over two hundred and fifty years old. He wishes for me to teach a group of kids where the oldest his heir is not even five hundred years old. This should be entertaining trying to get all of these kids to learn and at a rate that can help each of them become their best within the next two hundred years.

"Children, this is your tutor . . . ." Raitonin fades out as he realizes that he never got my full name.

"Kagome Hantā, my lord," I tell him.

One of his daughters giggles before saying, "Papa it is not polite to not ask the name of someone."

"It is also not polite to correct your father in such things especially since he is the lord of these lands, young one," I reprimand her.

"Hantā is going to teach you etiquette, fighting, and other subjects of much importance. You have permission to punish as you see fit. I expect a startup report on my desk in a week," Raitonin commands before backing out of the room and leaving me alone with the children.

"As you all know my name is Kagome, what are your names," I ask politely.

"I am Yuki and this is my twin Mizu," says the white haired girl before pointing to the light blue haired girl.

I would have never of known that they were twins had I not smelled how similar they are in scent. Only twins or triplets or such have the same scent. Even then there are some differences between them.

"My name is Inutaisho and I am my father's heir," the young man who I assumed was Inutaisho says.

"Very well we will start with some exercises. You have ten seconds to run," I warn them.

The girls giggle before taking off as fast as they can. Inutaisho hesitates for a second wondering what type of exercise this is. I start ticking off the seconds on my hand and Inutaisho takes off fast not wanting to disappoint me already on the first day. I smile to myself seeing how they already have a nice burst of speed for pups their ages. When I reach zero, I start chasing after the girls. They are close to Inutaisho and none of them know how close they are to each other. I smirk and as I am about to grab one of the girls. I twist out of the way and make to grab Inutaisho. Not expecting me to make that move he is caught easily.

"Go and sit by the wall," I command him.

Inutaisho growls at me and I smack him on the nose for growling at me which is inappropriate unless against an enemy. I let him go and start going after the girls. I catch them both less than a minute later. I walk with them over to the wall where Inutaisho is sitting.

"Pretty good for your first try against me. For now on you will spend an hour each morning and night before leaving classes doing this with each other I shall watch over this and make sure everything is fair. Whoever is the first to get got is the next getter," I tell them. "Next try it in the tree. Girls up you go you have ten seconds to get up there."

"May I ask what the purpose of doing this is," Inutaisho demands of me.

"This will teach you to survive in different terrains, evasion skills, and speed if you do it right. Think of it as a challenge of seeing how long you can go without being caught by your opponent or how quick you can catch that which is your prey," I tell him before going to sit at the base of the tree and signal for him to go ahead and search for his prey.

It takes him a little over ten minutes to find and catch his little sisters which are giggling by the time he catches them. When they have finished, they come down and stand beside me waiting for my comments.

"The next round, Mizu, you need to go after both of them. You both need to learn to be independent of each other when it comes to fighting. You need to be able to work together as needed but also be fine when not together. Also silence in hunting and being hunted is important no need in letting the opponent knowing where you are by sound," I command the girls before signaling Inutaisho and Yuki back into the tree.

Ten seconds later, I signal for Mizu to follow them up into the tree. For the next hour or so they continue training, it is fun to watch them playing around and knowing that this is a type of bonding for them even if they are training as they have some fun. I allow them to go for a few more a few more rounds before rounding them up for some lessons in reading and etiquette.

Alright that is it for now. I am tired but have a little energy left so I am about to go to bed. Again I am sorry for updating so late. Until next time bye.


	6. Proving

Hello and welcome to the sixth chapter of The Way. I appreciate every ones comments. I hope you all enjoy it and thanks for reading.

Chapter 6: Proving

Over six months, the pups get faster and more evasive. During lessons they are getting more and more eager to learn of the many things that I know. Today is the day that I start them in their actual weapons classes for I plan on taking them with me for a small travel experience later this week. I am currently waiting for the kids, in the gardens beneath a tree. Inutaisho, Mizu, and Yuki walk out and into the gardens with smiles on their faces. For the last three weeks they have expanded their game of chase to the outside of the castle. This allows for greater speed and more tests of endurance and hunting skills as well as evasion skills. They started developing some very creative and useful skills a little over three and a half months ago.

Yuki comes over and stands beside me as I am still the keeper of the game. I watch over and make sure nothing gets unfair and no fights break out. Three fights have broken out since the start of this game and they have all been easy to break up but I do not want them to start fighting today since I need them ready for weapons training today. I nod my head and Inutaisho and Mizu run off at quick speeds. Mizu seems to be the fastest of the three but Yuki is a good tactician so it is always fun to watch how these two face off. I allow the two twenty seconds to get a head start before signaling Yuki to go ahead and go. I climb to the top of the castles tallest tower so I can keep a close eye on the game. Yuki catches her sister Mizu first in a flourish. Mizu is able to last five minutes heads on before her sister touches her.

"Mizu come and stand with me," I command her.

Mizu sighs slightly before joining me up on the top of the tower. As we watch Yuki hunt down their brother who is hiding from his sister in the gardens and is hiding his scent and aura. Mizu is still searching for him from her height advantage but I know she will not find him even from this height. I watch for half an hour as Yuki continues to hunt for her brother. I smile at Inutaisho's patients to wait out the training time.

"Enough, Mizu cover your eyes and Yuki stop where you are. Inutaisho join me and Mizu at the top of the tower," I command. A few seconds later Inutaisho is standing in front of me. "Come on up Yuki."

"Where were you," demands Yuki.

"You will just have to find me next time," Inutaisho teases.

I smile widely. It is very rare that one of them is able to keep away from their siblings for very long. I believe tomorrow I will step up the game. It is time that portion of the training raises in the stakes. I jump my way down the tower and wait at the bottom for my charges to be there. I nod my head in approval as they make their way down with no problems at all. Usually someone slips and falls on the way down.

"Today we are stepping up your combat training. You have been studying hand to hand combat for the last three and a half months and have progressed much more than I thought you would. As a reward we are moving to the next step, weapons training," I tell them.

I walk them to the usual training dojo where other demons are currently training in combat as well. I walk over to the weapons rack and grab two wooden swords. I throw one to Inutaisho and hold the other one for myself.

"What about us Lady Kagome," asks Mizu with a confused look on her face.

"Ladies are expected to never have to wield a weapon," states General Hito with a grin on his face.

"That is true but there will be instances where the princesses will be in need of weapons training and I will give it to them General Hito," I growl out with a shake of my head.

"You are unnatural woman. You have tought the girls hand to hand even though they will have gaurds. They have no need of knowing such information. You have broken many of the codes set up in court. I do not know why my lord does not just kill you for your insolence and why it is he allows you to teach his children," Hiro growls deeply with a smirk on his face.

I can feel that my lord is coming up behind me. I duck just in time to avoid being hit in the head by my lord's sword. Damn it all. Why is he attacking me now of all times to test me why now. I swing my wooden sword up to block his sword. If I am careful I can block his sword and not break mine to smithereens.

"Show me what you can do Hantā," commands Lord Raitonin as he lunges at me.

I duck under his swing for my stomach and try to kick his legs out from under him. These maneuvers cause many demons to gasp in surprise most demons and humans would not chance ducking so low for fear of taking the chance of not ducking low enough and taking the blow to the head. I leap forward and swing my wooden sword at his head while keeping myself constantly in motion never allowing Raitonin an easy moment. The demons gasp when I land blows on Raitonin and laugh when he lands hits on me. After an hour and a half, I can hear them murmuring about how no one has lasted this long against their lord with so few injuries. I have trained for this type of fighting. I have trained to be fast and to last long periods of time while fighting. After a few more minutes, Raitonin holds up his left hand signaling for me to stop and an end to our fight. I pull myself out of my attack much to the amazement of most of the demons surrounding us and the young lord and ladies. It takes a lot of control to be able to stop oneself in mid-attack.

"Good work. You may teach the girls to fight with weapons," Raitonin tells me with a slight smirk on his face.

He is showing a bit of emotion as of late because he has two new sons. The boys were born a little over a month ago and it seems that Raitonin is very smug about having produced two more boys. I can only hope he does not go into full conquest mode soon. The children are too young to go into fighting and have much more to learn.

"Alright. Girls go over to that crate by the door and open it," I command them with a nod of my head towards the box.

The girls go over and open the lid to the box just to pull out three smaller very ornate boxes. One is white, another is light blue, and the final one is black.

"Throw me the black one darling. It has been a while since I have used one of these but they are the perfect weapon for the two of you," I tell the girls as I catch the black box that was thrown by Yuki. "Go ahead open the boxes."

I open mine and pull out twin black fans with silver full moons on the middle and a black sitting dangling from the bottom the fans. I smile as I twirl the fans in my hands showing off some of my skills with dance, form, poise, and balance among many other things. I hear the soldiers say aw at the beauty of my fans.

"Ha, what are fans going to do for the girls. They would be better off with bamboo sticks," Hito mocks.

In less than three seconds, I have hit Hito over the head with one of the fans, kicked his feet out from under him, and pinned him to the ground. By five seconds after what he has said, I have my fans at his throat. I smirk down at him as he gazes up at me in amazement.

"Those are some of the basic moves of using these fans. As you can see the bases and sides are made of metal. These fans are both beautiful and deadly," I say in a sickeningly sweet tone.

"As if that could kill anyone, knock someone out yes but actually kill someone no," Hito mocks yet again.

"You do not know how wrong you are," I tell him.

I press a hidden button on my fan and there is a click before spikes come out of the fan paper at the top as well as one from the top of each side. A few of the spikes poke into Hito's skin causing him to bleed. I shake my head at him as he starts to struggle against me pinning him to the ground with my fans at his neck. I click the buttons again and the spikes go back into the fans. Sweat is pouring down Hito's face.

"Now can you say they are not deadly. These are the perfect hidden weapon for the princesses. Who would ever expect for the fans themselves to be weapons," I say with a chuckle as I get up and allow him to stand. "Come on you three we must get started with your training. Inutaisho grab me another wooden sword. We shall continue your lessons outside children"

I lead the children outside and start to train them in their new weapons. They all seem uncomfortable with their new weapons. I run towards them and hit them all upside the head for their stupidity of holding their weapons wrong. I have corrected their holding innumerable times in the last three hours but they keep loosening up their hold.

"These weapons are supposed to seem like an extension of yourself. You hold must be hard but loose enough to allow full range of movement with it," I tell them after I finish whacking their heads.

They keep this up for the next hour and I sigh once again. They need to relax with these weapons not be so tense. It seems that they fear their weapons instead of hold an appreciation for them. If they keep this up, I will have to push back my plans.

"Well, I was going to include some dance lessons today but seeing as none of you can properly hold your weapons right. It will not happen. I was planning a surprise for you all later this week but it will not happen because of this failure," I tell them with a frown.

"But Lady Kagome, please let us learn dance," begs Yuki.

"What surprise," asks Inutaisho at the same time.

"This is pitiful. You all were doing so well and unless I see improvement tomorrow there will be no dance lessons for a few months and the surprise will be pushed back by a few weeks," I tell them. "Come on your math and reading lessons need to get worked on."

I lead the children inside and start their lessons of the day in math and reading. Many times they seem to focus on something else or look at the weapon at their waists. I can tell they are longing to pick it up again but they will not do so while I am watching them today because I am severely disappointed in them and have no wish to see it again today. After finishing their lessons in math and reading, I start them on a bit of geography work. I assign them some reading to do for the night before heading down to my room to relax before dinner tonight. Today has been stressful and things are not going as I have planned for the week but I will not have to wait for much longer hopefully.

I walk to the female guest spring and step out of my yakuta and hakama before walking into the springs. Since it is the end of winter, no one is visiting the palace. I sigh as I relax in the waters before cleaning with supplies from this time. I have been using my supplies from home sparsely hoping to make them last longer. Many of the servants are confused about the supplies I use and I have tried to make the supplies but it takes more time than I have available to me while I teach the children. Once I finish with my bath I step out and grab my black kimono set from the dressing station. The servants leave me my kimono set every day for when I go to dinner and any other important events. I use five layers kimono for regular days and eight for important events.

When I arrive at the dining hall, Lord Raitonin is already there but none of the kids are there. I sigh and sit down on my usual spot. I wait for Raitonin to start eating before I do. All throughout the meal none of the kids appear. They must be focusing on something else really well.

"How did things go today," asks Raitonin emotionlessly.

"They are not ready for what I had planned my lord. I will have to delay my plans by at least a few days if they keep it up," I answer smoothly and just as unemotional.

"Very well. I want to see some progress soon," he demands as he stands from his seat and leaves.

I sigh and walk away from the dining hall and back to what is going to be my garden come the spring and I can get some work done to it. I can feel the children up on the surrounding roof tops. I ignore them as I take my sword from my waist and start moving through some of my favorite forms. I move through the moves with speed and grace. Once I finish with most of the sword moves, I place my sword back in its sheath and pull my fans out of my sash. I start with my dance forms and move slowly into attack forms. I move smoothly from one style to the other with no problems at all. Occasionally as I work, I can the children working on their forms. I smile slightly because they are improving and starting to cover the basics. Good this means less work tomorrow and maybe no big changes in my plans.

Alright this is it for now. Please tell me what you think I take both criticism and good comments. Both help me make the story better and make my writing better as well.


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